A representative with Childress Klein couldn’t be reached for comment late Thursday.

The land, which is currently being used as a parking lot, is adjacent to the proposed new minor league baseball park at the corner of South Mint Street and Martin Luther King Boulevard.

Developers once had grand plans for the Third Ward area, including building a 39-story condo-hotel. While development in Third Ward has slowed along with the rest of the economy, plans for the area still include a public park.

Charlotte’s multifamily sector has attracted interest from developers and investors recently. Lenders are still making loans to build apartment complexes and analysts expect the number of renters to continue growing.

Uptown could use more apartments, said analyst Engle Addington with Real Data, which studies the apartment market.

Currently, there are 2,000 units in uptown. The vacancy rate as of August was 3.4 percent, down sharply from roughly 25 percent in February 2010, according to the most current data available.

Some new apartment complexes were added to the uptown market in 2010. More than 600 new condominiums have also been converted to rentals in recent years as buyers have largely disappeared during the downturn.

Demand, however, has remained strong.

“Uptown is doing pretty well, even with all the condo conversions,” Addington said.

“(Complexes) were running some great specials, and a lot of people took advantage of that.”Average rents have also risen, despite concessions landlords offered to fill units. In August, the average rent for a two-bedroom unit in uptown was $1,180, up from $2,010 in February.

“The apartment industry is on top of the bell curve right now, especially since other parts of the real estate industry are not performing all that well,” she said. “Vacancy rates are in a good place and forecast to improve even more.”

“Anything uptown is a good location,” she added. “You can’t go wrong.”

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Ely Portillo

Ely Portillo

About this blog

Ely Portillo covers economic development for the Observer, writing about who's building what in a city that seems to be sprouting new apartment and office towers on every corner. He also writes about Charlotte's airport, a major hub that's also undergoing a huge growth spurt. A transplant from Maryland, he's been reporting on his adopted hometown for more than five years. If you have a tip or story idea to share, you can contact him by email or give him a call at 704-358-5041. For the latest news, follow him on Twitter @ESPortillo.